Memory Monday - Bright Lights, Big City

I enjoyed the movie "Lost in Translation" a few years ago and was impressed with Sofia Coppola's ability to enable the audience to experience jet lag and culture shock along with the main characters, Charlotte and Bob. Watching the movie, I felt like I was seeing the mesmerizing neon lights of Tokyo for the first time. My first night on Japanese soil was at my Youth for Understanding exchange student cultural orientation in Tokyo in 1990. I remember staring at the long, narrow streets with the complex layering of lights, colors, letters and characters and I felt like I could not close my mouth or even blink without great effort. So different from anything I had seen before and yet so facinating and wonderful. I still love the electric feel of Tokyo and I look forward to staring sleepily at those shiny streets many more times in the future.